China’s Grain Output Bounces Back in 2017

China’s grain output saw a mild increase in 2017 as per unit yield climbed, official data showed Friday. The country’s grain output stood at about 617.9 million tonnes in 2017, up by 1.66 million tonnes, or 0.3 percent, compared with last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)…Full Article: China Daily Dec 2017

Key Point

From 2016 to 2017, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the country’s grain cultivation area declined by 815,000 hectares while its overall yield rose by 54 kg per ha, a 1% increase. Specifically, China’s corn production area decreased by -3.6%, while soybeans saw its planting area increase by 6.7%.

ChinaAg Comments

In September 2017, Heilongjiang Province began harvesting grain crops from 2.9 million hectares. Henan Province had already harvested 466,667 hectares, out of 5.7 million ha, of its grain crops.

In June 2017, farmers in Shandong Province began harvesting their winter wheat crop.

In 2016, China produced approximately 616 million MTs of grains, a -0.8% decline from 2015. From 2015 to 2016, China’s grain cultivation declined by 315,000 ha while its overall yield dropped by 30.7 kg per ha (0.03 MT per ha).

In 2015, China produced 621 million MTs of grains, of which rice, wheat, and corn accounted for 92% of output (~572 million MTs). Grain crops were harvested on 113.3 million ha, with some new acreage appearing at the expense of cotton crops.

In November 2015, China announced plans to cut its corn production by 3.3 million hectares across 13 provinces/regions by the end of 2020. This decline in area will cut production by approximately 25 million MTs. According the Deputy Director of China’s Crop Production Department (under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture), the major corn producing regions of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang will see the largest declines in production area, while Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Guizhou and Yunnan will also be affected somewhat.

In 2014, China produced 607 million MTs of grain. Henan Province (largest producer) produced 33.29 million MTs of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum). The second largest producer, Shandong Province, produced 22.63 million MTs of winter wheat. Other major production areas included the provinces of Hebei (14.27 million MTs), Anhui (13.93 million MTs), and Jiangsu (11.6 million MTs).

In 2013, Heilongjiang accounted for 11% of China’s rice production (by volume), less than 1% of its wheat output, 15% of its corn output, 25% of its beans output, and 3% of its tubers output. Overall, the province accounted for 10% (or ~60 million MTs) of China’s grain output in 2013.

In 2011, Heilongjiang surpassed Henan in central China as the country’s top grain producer.